


Not Alone

by destielwithashotgun



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: semi-graphic wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 13:19:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13272261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destielwithashotgun/pseuds/destielwithashotgun
Summary: Andy, Lauren, Marcos and Lorna are tasked with the job of reconnaissance when John and Clarice are busy. They thought it would be easy and a good training mission for Andy and Lauren. But when it all goes horribly wrong and both kids are hurt, can the other keep them alive long enough to be rescued? At least there's one thing to be grateful for. Those siblings are Not Alone.





	Not Alone

The mission was supposed to be easy. A get in and get out with the mutants who had escaped from the trafficking ring and made contact with the Underground. They were supposedly hiding out in an abandoned hotel while they waited for the Underground to find them. Andy and Lauren were allowed to come along because the would be useful if anything went wrong (which at the time was a very low chance of happening) and it was practice for them to use their powers and become a more useful part of the resistance. Both were eager to do more than just sit around. With some persuasion and assurance that Marcos and Lorna would never leave them alone, Caitlin and Reed gave in, much to their children's delight. It didn't take as much convincing as they thought it would, due to the Struckers agreement on giving their kids more freedom to fight the war they were apart of. 

They left early in the morning, planning on traveling the two hours it took to get to the hotel (unfortunately Clarice couldn't portal them anywhere near it because she and John were *ahem, busy) picking up the fugitives, and then traveling two hours back to the underground, granted they didn't run into any trouble. If Sentinel Services were involved in something near them, they would find some where to crash for the rest of the day and stay the night, then leave the next morning and hopefully make it back to the underground without running into any hitches. That was the plan anyway. Unfortunately, It didn't really turn out that way. 

They made it to the hotel ok, easily entering the broken down building and then quietly trying to find the hidden mutants, whispering their code work every so often. They realized something was off when nobody came toward their calls and after a few minutes of searching, the thought occurred to them that it might be a trap. Marcos muttered "Shit" and then told them calmly that they all needed to get out of there right then. Lorna went out first, with Andy and Lauren behind her and then Marcos covering their backs. But he rushed forward when he heard the loud bang in front of them and Lorna slammed into the wall next to him. Running in front of the kids like that was a mistake. The second he left them behind, that's when the darts were shot. Lorna, thankfully not injured other than being a little jarred, was already up but she was not hit, which was obviously intentional. Lauren crashed toward the ground first, and Andy screamed her name. For a second, it looked like he was unaffected by the dart stuck in his neck, and then he slumped too the ground. Last minute, he threw his hand out and everything in behind them collapsed into rubble. 

Without communicating, both Lorna and Marcos knew what the plan was in the few seconds of chaos that Andy had created. Before the agents behind them could gather their bearings, Lorna scooped Laurens unconscious form into her arms and Marcos did the same with Andy. Then they ran. As soon as the agents realized what the mutants were doing, gunfire was being sent their way. Before Lorna could use her powers, a bullet caught her in the leg. She half screamed, stumbling to the ground and dropping Lauren, who startled awake, clearly still dazed. Grunting, Marcos slapped Andy across the face, causing him to wake up in the same fashion as his sister. Neither sibling seemed particularly coherent, but they knew when to run and both were able to sprint (even though they were a little wobbly) across the grass. They were lucky the drugs distributed to them were only there to keep them in check until the agents could get the collars on. 

Then they heard barking behind them. Dogs. Sentinel Services had released dogs that were now chasing them. Marcos, still supporting Lorna, flung one hand behind him and blindly used his powers to fire at the animals. Lorna groaned but did her best to be an easy passenger. One dog got passed them, leaping at Andy and tearing into his calf. Andy screamed and tumbled to the ground, clutching his leg. Lauren, hair flying wildly behind her, threw up a shield between her brother and the dog and moved to grab him, blood pouring from his leg. They weren't doing horrible until another bullet flew past them and embedded itself into Laurens shoulder. Now, both of them were supporting the other, moving much slower than they should be and close to falling. Lorna grunted and pulled away from Marcos, now the only uninjured one in their group. "Help them! It's only a graze, I'll be fine. I can help keep them away." Marcos pulled in a sharp breath but did what he was directed.

Andy was obviously not doing well, his pant leg soaked with red and his face much paler then it should have been. Sweat lined his face and he looked close to passing out. Marcos pulled one of his arms around his own shoulder to take the weight off Lauren and get them moving faster. She didn't look great, but she was faring far better than her brother. Finally, he saw a small creek off to the side and veered that way calling to Lorna. Andy had passed out, and, not liking the idea of his wound touching the dirty water and most definitely getting infected, Marcos swung him high up to his chest and barreled into the water. Knowing they couldn't outrun the agents forever, instead of running across the creek he crawled into the small drainage pipe (ignoring his disgust) and watched as Lauren squeezed in front of him (it was a tight fit), and then finally Lorna, breathing heavily. 

For minutes that felt like years, there was only the sound of agents splashing through the water and dogs barking when they were unable to track their prey through the dirty creek. Marcos breathed shallowly, afraid to even make a little bit of noise. It took forever for the noises outside to die down, and then another eternity for them to relax enough to crawl cautiously out of the pipe. Lauren was pale now as she sat against one of the many trees around them. Lorna was examining a graze on her leg which looked like it was hurting her but didn't compare at all to the gaping flesh that was Andy's calf. It made them all sick to look at it when Marcos pulled the younger Struckers pant leg up and exposed the wound. There was also blood staining the sleeve and back of Laurens shirt, reminding them that she had been shot as well. Caitlin and Reed were going to kill them. If they even survived. They had no way of contacting the underground because the burner phone they were using was left behind in the pack Marcos had been carrying at the hotel. 

They were lucky that Lorna still had her pack, because there was a small first aid kit in it. They were definitely going to need it. Especially if they didn't want multiple infections from the dirty water they were just in, which only Andy escaped from. He still was at risk though, because he was bitten by a dog and that was obviously not sanitary. Marcos was the only one who escaped without getting seriously hurt. There was a chance he would need stitches though, if they still had any left after treating the other three, from a cut on his arm from where the fence outside of the hotel had hit him. Or more like he hit it. In his defense though, he was trying to support his girlfriend, keep them from getting mauled by dogs (look how well that turned out) and find them a safe place to hide all at the same time. 

They needed to get somewhere safe, but they also needed to treat wounds before Andy bled out, or Lauren passed out. He made eye contact with Lorna, who took off her jacket, held it up, and nodded toward Lauren. By then, they knew each other so well that they didn't need to speak to communicate their ideas. Marcos took off his own Jacket and grabbed one of the sticks laying everywhere on the forest floor. Gritting his teeth, he fashioned a quick tourniquet and tightening it around Andy's leg. He was lucky the boy was unconscious, because it was obviously painful. Even without being awake, Andy groaned loudly and tried to twist away. Marcos winced in sympathy and muttered a quick apology, even though he knew the teen couldn't hear anything he said. Then he picked him up again. 

On the other side of them, Lorna had wrapped her jacket as best she could around Laurens shoulder and was now helping her stand, the younger girl obviously struggling. Lorna was limping as well, but she had taken her outer shirt off, leaving her in only a thin tank top, and wrapped it around her leg so she seemed to be doing better. As a whole, they looked pretty rough. Marcos carried Andy, who was paler then a ghost, while a limping Lorna supported Lauren, who was pale as well. Both Struckers were doing worse than the other two, though that wasn't their fault. It was just dumb luck Marcos hadn't been hit or bitten, and Lorna had only been grazed. Once again, he thought that Caitlin and Reed were going to kill them. 

Lorna set a pace immediately, which Marcos could easily follow, even with carrying a 150 pound kid in his arms. Actually, probably less. The kid never seemed to eat, and he was lighter than he should be. She seemed to know where they were going, taking purposeful strides in one direction, luckily not toward where they had last seen the agents heading. Marcos constantly felt like looking over his back, not able to shake the paranoid feeling that they were being followed or watched. He did have a good reason to be nervous though. They were chased by Sentinel services almost an hour ago, which wasn't enough time to start moving again in his opinion, though they didn't have much choice. By the time they were forced to cross a large road (empty, thank God), his arms were straining a bit. It had been a while, and even though he was fit enough from the cartel, and then fighting the mutant war for years, anyone else would have dropped the kid by now. Except John, who had never really specified his powers before, though he seemed to be unnaturally strong and invincible. It was also not fair that he could track too, because he had two powers. Sometimes Marcos teased John about how jealous he was of him. When they reached the other side of the road, Marcos almost grinned. It was a gas station, falling apart and probably not totally safe, but they didn't have much of a choice. Besides, it seemed like a pretty good hideout. They could treat their injuries there without (hopefully) being interrupted. It was a good way to try to contact the Underground as well. They stumbled inside and Lauren, who was miraculously still conscious somehow, though she didn't look far from joining her brother. The jacket that was around Andy's leg was already soaked through with blood, and his face was so ashy that if he couldn't see his chest rising, Marcos would have thought he was dead. They needed to treat him first. Unfortunately, Andy picked the worst time possible to start waking up. While Lorna was grabbing the necessary supplies, his eyes opened and stared glassily at them. Lauren was there in a second, grimacing a bit but grabbing his hand with her good arm. "Andy? Can you hear me?" he winced at the noise, and blinked against the light, staring first at Marcos and then at his sister, obviously dazed. Lauren was clearheaded, the drug they used on the teens already worn off, which means it was Andy's injury that was causing the confusion. Not that that piece of information was surprising. "What happened?" he asked, his words slurred. "Are you guys ok? Lauren-is that blood!?" His tone was urgent, but the words were hard to understand and it was worrying that his head was clearing at all. "Really Andy? You're laying on the floor covered in blood and you're asking us if we're ok? Seriously, we're fine. Now you have to focus on being fine, ok?" he nodded blurrily as Lorna came to kneel beside them, kit in her hand. Marcos knew he needed to warn Andy about what was coming and broke between the siblings gaze. "Andy, this is going to hurt. A lot. Let yourself pass out, because we don't have any painkillers and we're kind of trapped here until we can talk to the Underground and get us out of here, so we have to make sure your leg doesn't get an infection." His nod this time was slower, which meant he was closer to passing out already. That was a half-relief. Lauren sat back heavily, not wanting to witness what was going to happen but not wanting to leave her brothers side. The problem was solved for her when the blood loss finally got to her and she slumped against the shelves behind her, unconscious. Andy watched her, concerned and turned, a bit frantic, toward Marcos and Lorna. He didn't get a chance to say anything though, because the second he opened his mouth Lorna stuffed a rag between his teeth to make sure he didn't bite off his own tongue when they cleaned the wound. Then she stood and walked Lauren, bringing her to another part of the station, ready to help if needed but not very good at anything medical. Lorna had always been the fighter, Marcos had been the one to patch her up. He had a lot of practice at the cartel. He grit his teeth, and then, trying not to hesitate, poured a large amount of hydrogen peroxide on Andy's leg. Instead of making him pass out, the pain only seemed to make Andy wake up more and he screamed into the rag, hot tears running down his face. Lorna was back, doing her best to hold him still and whispering words none of them could hear. Still, it was like the pain was too much for Andy to pass out, which didn't make any sense, so he just kept screaming. Sometimes his screams would be cut off with a sob and harsh breaths followed every one while Marcos vigorously cleaned the wound that was dirty enough to see muck from far away. By the time the cleaning was done, Andy was physically and emotionally wrecked and his body shook, though at least he was no longer screaming. He finally passed out when Marcos started the stitches, though they didn't know if it was from blood loss or pain. It took a large amount of stitches to close the gaping wound and when it was finally done, Marcos let out a sigh of relief. It had taken so long, but they got the teens leg wrapped in bandages, the clean white almost glowing against Andy's skin. And they still had to do Lauren. His own wound was bleeding again, a bother for which he had no patience for and halfheartedly, using the least amount he could, wrapped a few bandages around so he didn't get blood on anything else. Lauren was a bit easier because she was already unconscious, but they put a rag in her mouth anyway and occasionally she would groan into it. Both Lorna and Marcos were covered with blood by the end, most of it from one of the two Strucker kids. They were almost out of the thread for stitches and hydrogen peroxide. Each poured some of the disinfectant on their wounds and Marcos let Lorna use the last of the thread to stitch up her graze while he did his best to wipe the blood from his skin and take the time to do his bandages properly. He was hoping the bleeding would stem soon, because he didn't have any way to stop it. He moved Andy and Lauren to behind what used to be the checkout counter, setting up the supplies in the shelves there and then watching the siblings, not feeling up to doing anything else. Lorna joined him soon, her own wound freshly bandaged and she set the needle in the open kit. Then they both stared at the kids, mostly looking at their bandages and they layer of grime covering them from the creek, the hotel, and now, the gas station. Andy was still to pale, and he knew he had lost a lot of blood. Marcos and Lorna could only hope that Andy didn't need a transfusion, because they had no way of getting that done. Lorna looked at him. "When we have this kid," she placed a hand on her stomach, "Are we going to let them come on missions with us when they get older?" Marcos laughed, but it was bitter and mingled with the worry for Andy and Lauren. "Are you kidding? After this I won't even let him out of his room!" Lorna's eyes seemed to glow then, and he stared at them as she grabbed his hand and the aurora borealis started to rise up around them. "You think it's a he? Do you want a boy or a girl?" Most parents would say that they didn't care as long as they baby was healthy. That was true for Marcos and Lorna too, but they were also hoping for something else. "I don't care, as long as we are alive to watch them grow up." Both of them were silent after that, as the cold truth stuck them. They lived in a battlefield they couldn't escape, just because of one gene. They could die after their kid was born, and leave him or her all alone. And, dead or not, it would break both of their hearts. Marcos said what they were both thinking. "We aren't going to leave these kids alone." Her head was on his shoulder and he felt her nod against his shirt. Neither of them were leaving this building. The underground would find them anyway. These teenagers were Not Alone. .................................................................................... Lauren woke up, drowsy and sore, sometime that night. They gave her Advil, the strongest medication they had, and then let her go back to sleep. Andy didn't wake up at all. The next day they took inventory of what they had, which wasn't much. Half a bottle of Advil Three bandages (which was soon to be two after Andy's current ones were changed) A sewing needle One water bottle, mostly full A few band aids Fever reducers And ipecac, which was of no use to them The one good thing was, none of the wounds looked infected, at least not yet, so they were ok there. The bad news was, the Underground probably hadn't began searching yet because they weren't expected until at least two hours from then. So they just sat and watched Andy, the only one who hadn't woken up yet. Both Lorna and Marcos tried to persuade Lauren to go back to sleep, for which she argued that they hadn't slept at all and they needed sleep as much as her, and then said that she refused to be asleep if Andy woke up. They weren't going to argue with her. They were lucky though, because Andy did wake up. Lauren and Marcos immediately surrounded him while Lorna stayed back to give him some space. "Andy? How are you feeling?" while it was obvious Lauren wanted to jump on her brother and squeeze the life out of him in a hug, she held back because it didn't look like Andy had much life left to be squeezed out. Andy didn't answer Laurens question. "Are they looking for us yet?" he asked, cloudy eyes staring up at Marcos. He swallowed hard, past the lump in is throat and did his best to reply without sounding horribly depressed and fake. "Yeah buddy, I'm sure they are." Andy looked like he could tell Marcos was lying, but he just nodded tiredly and slipped back into unconsciousness. As it turned out though, Marcos was not lying, because about three hours after Andy woke up, they heard their code word being whispered in the silent air. Lorna was up immediately, drawing a crowd of Reed, Caitlin, John, Clarice, Shatter, Glare, and Wes toward them. The next few minutes happened very quickly. Andy was loaded onto a wooden plank (the best next thing to a stretcher) and carried out toward the car. Lauren was hugged and fussed over by her parents and Wes, who all looked terrified at the bullet wound in her shoulder. John and Clarice apologized over and over again to Marcos and Lorna for not coming with them and helping, which both adults refuted every time. Finally, Caitlin came back in quickly to tell them it was time to go and stopped Marcos before he walked out the door, leaving only the two of them in the station. "Caitlin, I'm so sorry-" he was cut off as she threw her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered. "They weren't Alone."


End file.
